Goldey-Beacom women's tennis team makes NCAA tournament

After a record-setting regular season, Coach Joe Kissel and the Goldey-Beacom College women's tennis team have earned a berth in the 2013 NCAA Division II Women's Tennis East Regional Championship and will face Queens College on Saturday, Apr. 27, it has been announced by NCAA officials.

After a record-setting regular season, Coach Joe Kissel and the Goldey-Beacom College women's tennis team have earned a berth in the 2013 NCAA Division II Women's Tennis East Regional Championship and will face Queens College on Saturday, Apr. 27, it has been announced by NCAA officials.

The winner of the match between Goldey-Beacom and Queens will face either second-seeded Concordia or seventh-seeded Southern New Hampshire on Sunday, Apr. 28.

All three matches in the four-team bracket will take place on the campus of Queens College in Flushing, N.Y.

In the other portion of the East Region bracket, fourth-seeded Stonehill College will host fifth-seeded Chestnut Hill College on Apr. 27 with the winner facing top-seeded New York Tech on Apr. 28.

The Lightning, who will be making their third NCAA appearance in the last four years, have won a school-record 14 matches this year and advanced to the semifinals of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Championship in October.

In addition, the Lightning set a school record this year with nine shutout victories.

A two-time selection as the CACC Player of the Year, sophomore Stephanie Puentes Robinson (Bogota, Colombia) has been the Lightning's top singles player this season. She has posted a 19-3 record this year, including a 16-2 mark at number one singles. In addition, she has won 9 of her last 10 matches, including the last four in a row.

With 19 singles wins this season, Puentes Robinson ranks second on the Lightning's all-time single-season list and can tie the school record set by Luciana Pereira in 2009-10 with a victory in the NCAA Tournament.

In her two-year career, Puentes Robinson has won 31 singles matches, which ranks fifth in school history. In addition, her .838 winning percentage in singles matches is the third-highest mark in program history.

Meanwhile, junior Rocio Cabanillas Moreno (Sevilla, Spain) has been a solid addition to the lineup with a 12-4 record at number two singles. She has won 7 of her last 10 matches and enters the NCAA Tournament with a 13-5 overall singles record.

A trio of seniors have provided a great deal of leadership for the Lightning. Senior Melanie Bonomo (Maracay, Venezuela) set the Goldey-Beacom career singles wins record earlier this year and has posted a 45-27 record in her career.

Meanwhile, senior Vanessa Leon (Caracas, Venezuela) has posted 40 singles wins in her career, which ranks third in school history. However, she holds the Goldey-Beacom career record with 53 doubles victories, including a school-record 16 wins during the 2010-11 season.

A four-year letter winner for the Lightning, senior captain Blanca Sancho (Zaragoza, Spain) has posted a career-high 12 singles wins this year while contributing 11 doubles victories. Entering the NCAA Tournament, Sancho has posted a 38-31 singles record along with a 39-25 mark in doubles play. She ranks second on the Lightning's all-time doubles wins list.

Page 2 of 2 - The Lightning will be trying to earn the first NCAA Tournament victory in the program's history. In 2010-11, they lost to Stonehill by a 5-3 margin in the first round after a 5-0 setback against Stonehill in the 2009-10 NCAA Tournament.

The Knights and the Lightning will be facing each other for the second time this season. On Apr. 7, Queens earned a 7-2 victory over Goldey-Beacom.